Separate Ways
by Rebel 0ne
Summary: Years after, and miles away from the Mojave, Craig Boone runs into one of the last people he ever expected to see again.
1. Chapter 1

**Separate Ways**

a Fallout fanfiction

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General disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).

Author's note: Please let me know if I should continue. This has been floating in my head for a while.

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The Falcon was a seedy bar at the best of times and was characteristically both wonderfully dim and horribly loud with the boisterous crowd currently spread within its walls. Boone figured they could have found a better place to find a drink but Jack was adamant about stopping there and the sniper wasn't up to arguing. It had been a very long trek already and they still had miles to go before they made it to Shady Sands. One night spent on an actual bed and with real food to eat was a luxury the soldiers didn't often get.

They found a table and ordered as soon as a harried barmaid made it over to them. Boone sat back in his chair, cringing slightly as the muscles in his back cramped a little. Jack was practically gawking at the crowd and Boone smirked. Obviously Jack hadn't been out of the desert in a very long while.

They sat there for a while and Boone sipped his beer while Jack seemed to guzzle them one after the other. The sniper was about to suggest the younger man slow down a little when heard her voice. The very sound of it stopped his breath and he froze in place. In reality it had only been three years but it seemed like an eternity since he'd seen her last. Slowly, Boone turned in his seat and scanned the crowd.

She was standing near the back wall in the midst of a seemingly heavy conversation with some guy. Boone was up on his feet and moving towards her before he even realized it and he stopped a couple of paces away from her, hanging back until she was done.

His eyes scanned over her, admiring the view that hadn't changed much. Her auburn hair was much longer, even pulled back in a ponytail it curved down to the middle of her back. She'd always been slim and the low riding pants and form fitting sleeveless shirt she wore showed just how gorgeous and well-built she still was. He'd honestly never even considered checking her out when they'd first met but of course back then he'd been one step away from putting the barrel of his rifle in his mouth and ending it all.

She'd led him away from that precipice and had inevitably saved his life. They'd fought together for months and even though she'd managed to wrangle up a small posse of people willing to fight with them it had always been only him that she'd trusted implicitly and vice versa.

The heated conversation she had with the guy lasted another minute or so and Boone managed to catch a few choice phrases along the way. She was ready to leave Hub but couldn't because the man owed her money. By the end she'd given him two days to get it and the guy had quickly left the bar, no doubt in a rush to get her caps together. Boone's eyes flicked back to her just as she spun on her heels and almost plowed straight into him. She came up short and stared.

Their eyes met for an extended moment and he smirked when her stare widened in recognition. "Boone?" she whispered.

His smirk deepened.

"Boone!" she shouted, flinging herself against him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She pressed a firm closemouthed kiss to his lips then tucked her head against his shoulder, whispering softly, "I can't believe it's you."

He returned her embrace and smiled into her hair. "It's good to see you, Anna."

The former courier nodded against him and refused to let go. "What are you doing here?" she asked, finally leaning back far enough to look up at him.

"On our way to Shady Sands to see Kimball."

Her eyes passed over the red beret he still wore then down over his face and finally down to the uniform he wore. "You're still with First Recon then?"

Boone nodded. "Yes ma'am."

She smiled and hugged him again. "I can't believe you're here. It's _so_ good to see you."

An hour later they were sitting at a table in the darkest corner of the bar with almost a dozen empty bottles between them. "So who's your partner, Boone?"

"Hmm?"

"First Recon works in pairs do they not?" she asked cheekily, obviously more than a little tipsy.

Boone grinned and nodded. "Usually."

"Are you Billy Badass now and don't need a partner, or what?"

"Gorobets retired."

She had her current bottle halfway to her mouth when his words settled and it was promptly smacked back to the table. "You were promoted."

It wasn't a question but Boone nodded anyway.

"You're in charge of First Recon now?"

"For over a year."

She shrieked his name again and reached over the table, knocking the bottles to the floor while she clung to him again. "That's great! You jerk! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

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It was well into the morning when the bar finally began to clear out and Boone found himself still seated at the table with a drunk ex-courier who was singing to herself while she picked the label off the bottle in her hands. They'd talked about everything it seemed. About the so-called 'good ol' days' back in the Mojave, about the old crew and about what each of them had been doing for the past three years. Anna was a funny drunk and Boone had ended up laughing more than he had in years.

He'd loosened up considerably in the time they'd been apart and Anna had almost fallen out of her chair the first time he'd cracked an honest to god smile. She'd opened her mouth to say something when a shadow fell across the table and she blinked up at the uniformed man standing over them. "I know you," she muttered, her face scrunching up as she tried to remember.

Boone looked up at his subordinate and immediately recognized the glazed expression and smell of whiskey. "Jack, this is Anna. Anna, Jack of Spades."

Her eyes opened wide. "_Jack!_ You made it to Jack!"

The younger soldier smiled, "Yesss ma'am," he slurred. "Lieu-lieutennnant B-Boone p-p-promo-mo-moted me."

Anna smiled back. "Congratulations, Jack."

"Go find a bunk somewhere Jack. Sleep it off," Boone commanded albeit nicely.

Jack said his goodbyes, threw a sloppy drunken salute and stumbled away. Anna watched him go then turned back. "Where's the rest of your squad?"

Boone watched his soldier disappear out the door before he answered. "They're around. Jack wanted a drink and I thought it sounded like a good idea."

"Do you still have everyone?"

"Betsey and Bitter-Root are still around, yeah. Sterling's gone. He died in his sleep almost two years ago and you already know about Gorobets. He's living down around Baja. Have a couple of rookies too."

Anna grinned over at him and rested her chin in her hand. "I'm happy for you, I really am. You've done great things, Boone."

He stared across the tarnished table at her and stayed silent. Her eyes were what he'd remembered the most. Back then they'd been the bluest things around and they still were. Stunning cyan that shone brighter than the ocean waters. He'd found himself staring into them more than once.

"Boone?"

Blinking slowly his gaze shifted to her face and he saw her smiling at him. "Hmm?"

"You're staring."

"You're beautiful."

Anna honest-to-god _blushed_. "Thanks Boone."

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_Good? Bad? Please review! ;) _


	2. Chapter 2

**Separate Ways**

a Fallout fanfiction

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The world was hazy around the edges as they stumbled down the hall and the woman formerly known as Courier Six wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to get the very attractive soldier back to her rented room but she was more than grateful. She'd wanted Boone _bad_ back in Vegas but that sort of relationship hadn't been possible then. He'd been unstable to say the least and she'd been unwilling to destroy the friendship and trust they'd managed to carve out together.

Now...present day...well that was a completely different story.

Boone had left the Mojave and had made another life for himself. A good healthy life so it would seem. He'd grown past the pain of his loss to become a better man and Anna was happy that she'd been able to play a part in his healing.

She didn't know how much they'd ended up drinking but the former courier couldn't but chuckle a little as she briefly thought about Cass. Wherever the foulmouthed woman was, she'd be proud at not only the amount of alcohol that had been ingested but that Anna was a little closer to finally getting what she wanted.

After the last bottle was drained Boone had tried to be a gentleman and had attempted to walk her back to her room with a stabilizing hand on her back but she'd wanted none of his chivalry. He'd looked surprised when she'd managed to shove him against the wall halfway down the hallway but he'd recovered quickly and had practically picked her up and carried her the rest of the way.

They were barely through the door before he kicked it shut and set her back down her feet. Anna wobbled momentarily from a head rush then stabilized and reached for him.

"I wanted you back in New Vegas, Boone," she whispered without looking at him. "I wanted you but I knew I couldn't have you."

He was silent for a while then softly cleared his throat before he answered. "It's different now," he said.

Anna nodded.

"I always thought you were beautiful, you know."

Her head snapped up and she stared at him wide-eyed. "You did?"

He smiled sadly and reached up to brush his thumb over her temple. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about it then. I just..."

Anna shook her head quickly. "No, no, it's fine. Really. I knew you couldn't. Knew _we_ couldn't. It wasn't like that then, Boone. Please know that. I knew. I knew you couldn't."

They stood face to face with barely any space between them for what seemed like hours. Just looking at each other. Anna had always thought him to be good looking but the time away from New Vegas and all of its memories had done him good. Even though it was three years later he seemed at least five years younger than he had then. The stress and frown lines had softened or altogether disappeared and his eyes no longer seemed haunted.

"What are we doing?" she finally whispered.

"Well, I was thinking about finally kissing you."

Her eyes widened and her heartbeat stuttered in anticipation and she waited for him to move but he didn't. "Just thinking?"

With a small smile Boone finally leaned in.

It wasn't the first time that Anna's lips had touched Boone's or even the second but it was the first time that the contact had been intimate in nature. Anna immediately pressed herself against him and relaxed as his hand reached for the back of her head, pulling her up so he could kiss her deeply.

She was on the bed, on her back before she knew it and he was resting between her thighs with his hands buried in her hair. Anna arched against him and hooked one leg behind his knee, wanting him even closer still.

Boone smiled against her mouth and moved his hands, sliding them from her hair down her sides to her hips.

They kissed for a while longer until Anna couldn't stand it anymore. She reached for his jacket, ready to shove it from his shoulders but realized he'd already taken it off along with his beret. She thought about commenting on how eager he must be but the words were swallowed back because she could only admit that she was just as eager.

It didn't take long for Boone to get her naked and after the last of her clothes were tossed to the other side of the room she went about getting him to the same state.

They took it slow, kissing and touching almost tentatively, both half-afraid of scaring off the other person, Anna no doubt feeling it much more than Boone. It seemed like she needn't worry though, Boone was clearly with her one hundred percent.

Anna grabbed at his t-shirt, yanking at it to get it over his head and Boone ducked his head to help her, grabbing it out of her hand and tossing it somewhere over his shoulder towards the rest of their clothes on the floor. The rest of his uniform quickly followed after his boots thunked to the floor and Anna finally got to see him naked before he settled back between her thighs.

She was not disappointed.

Boone was sliding inside of her within minutes and it was the best feeling she'd ever had. They took it slow, rocking against one another as they kissed over and over. She loved it, cherishing every second that she had with him.

This had to be what making love felt like. He wasn't hurried, wasn't thrusting hard into her just to make her scream. No, he was moving in and out of her at a torturous pace and she tightened around him as he brought her closer and closer to the edge. Boone moaned her name against her ear just before he reached down and hooked his hand under one of her thighs, pulling her closer to him. The added friction was her undoing and she came with a full body shudder, quaking and shivering as he finished himself.

As they settled down it seemed like there were unspoken words hanging around them and Anna wasn't sure what she should say so she opted to stay silent and simply tucked her head against his shoulder, rubbing the bare skin on his chest with her fingertips.

Boone must have felt the same because he put an arm around her and held her tight against him, tickling her side with his own fingers. They drifted off to sleep shortly after, wrapped in each other's arms.

Anna woke up hours later, half afraid that he'd be gone but Boone was curled around her back, with his arm locked around her waist. She could feel every hot inch of him against her, including his erection that was pressing against her ass. Smiling sweetly she rolled over and looked at his sleeping face.

Always a light sleeper Boone opened his eyes and smiled back. Heavy words didn't seem to be necessary and after they kissed and whispered their good mornings they simply laid together warm and secure in the others embrace.

Anna was dozing lightly a while later when she finally heard him speak again and his words shocked her to full wakefulness.

"Come with me."

"What?"

Boone tightened his hold on her and repeated himself. "Come with me when we leave for the Sands tomorrow."

Anna laughed and shook her head. "And what do you expect me to do then? Follow you and your squad around on missions?"

"We can make a life together, Anna. You and me."

"We have one night together and you want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

Boone stared at her then nodded. "Yes. You saved me, Anna. Back in Vegas I...I wasn't human then. I was a shell of what I used to be and now...now I'm better and it's all because of you. I've thought about you a lot while we've been apart. I wanted to see you again and then there you were. Please baby, don't make me beg."

Anna said nothing for several minutes, just thinking about what he'd said and what he hadn't said and about all of the things that she'd wanted three years before and of all the things she'd done since. She watched him silently, secretly waiting for him to give up and pull away from her but he didn't. He stayed right there, watching her and it was his patience in the face of her disbelief that made up her mind.

"Okay."

Her answer was said so softly he almost didn't hear her but Boone had always had good ears. "Okay?"

Anna smiled and nodded and reached for him, kissing him hard. "Okay."

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**The End**

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AN: oh how I know how terrible this is (very) but there's no escaping it. Writers block is a bitch and I haven't tried to write anything even remotely smutty in a very long time. I do thank you for reading though and if you feel up to it please leave a comment to let me know what you thought. ;)


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